What They Say

Lucy Arigho’s first encounter with Greg Millar is far from promising, but she soon realises he possesses a charm that is impossible to resist. Just eight whirlwind weeks after their first meeting, level-headed career girl Lucy is seriously considering his pleas to marry him and asking herself if she could really be stepmother material.But before Lucy can make a final decision about becoming part of Greg’s world, events plunge her right into it. On holiday in the South of France, things start to unravel. Her future stepchildren won’t accept her, the interfering nanny resents her, and they’re stuck in a heat wave that won’t let up. And then there’s Greg. His behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre and Lucy begins to wonder whether his larger-than-life personality hides something darker—and whether she knows him at all.

My Review

The Accidental Life of Greg Millar was not what I was expecting AT ALL. I imagined a fun story, about a girl who finds love after losing the person she thought was her soulmate, someone who makes her happy again, and see the world in a much better light. And while it is that, for the first bit of the novel, it soon takes a way more serious turn as Greg turns out to be quite erratic. It took a while to get my head around, because Lucy's and Greg's relationship went from being the most amazing thing ever, to something balanced precariously on an edge of a cliff.

What I liked about the book was Lucy. She was the narrator, and she goes through so much - before Greg, whilst she's with Greg. Her entire relationship with Greg is like one big whirlwind. They're engaged within two months of knowing each other, then they go to France, with his kids, and it's like WHOA SLOW DOWN, but they're both away in this mad little love bubble and nothing can penetrate it, until it all starts to go slightly pear-shaped. It's the little things at first - Greg's kids, Rachel in particular, can't stand Lucy and she's not even willing to give her a chance; Helena the nanny is like the wicked witch, stirring trouble every where she goes; Greg disappears for hours on end, and yet through it all, Lucy is level-headed. Even afterwards, through everything else, Lucy is level-headed. And that's amazing. She really was the one who kept everything ticking over throughout, when anyone else would have said see you later.

I actually loved Rachel and Toby, Greg's kids. Yes, Rachel was very prickly with Lucy, but that's kids for you isn't it? And it's never easy having someone come into your life the way Lucy does, although it was unfair because Lucy didn't do anything wrong. But Toby was so cute. Ahhh, I love little boys, they're so sweet and innocent, especially in books. Greg, for me, was the hardest character to like. It was so, so hard to get a hold on who the real Greg was. But it was his love for Lucy that made me like him the most, because again, despite everything, these two loved each, there was no petty falling out and breaking up over nothing, this was the old-fashioned, make it work no matter what, because you love each other stuff and that was so good to read.

I really enjoyed The Accidental Life of Greg Millar. Yes, it was way more serious than I expected, but it was no less enjoyable. It made it all worthwhile, in fact, and it was refreshing to see a book tackle such a serious subject, with ease, too. Aimee Alexander writes really, really well (and she writes really well, too, as Denise Deegan, her real name) and I look forward to reading more of her Aimee books, and any others she's published under any other names.